Greenberg had been flooded with advice from Jews and rabbis across the country, some telling him to honor his faith and sit out the game, with others saying he should help this team, according to the 2013 book "Hank Greenberg: The Hero of Heroes," by John Rosengren.

In the end, Greenberg did play, and belted two home runs — including a dramatic walk-off homer in the ninth inning — to beat the Boston Red Sox 2-1.

Nine days later, Greenberg sat out for Yom Kippur, the day of atonement that's the most sacred day of the year for Jews, though by then the Tigers had almost clinched the playoffs, wrote Rosengren. The Tigers lost that day.

This month, as the Jewish community prepares for the Jewish high holy days, which start tonight at sunset with Rosh Hashanah, many are remembering Greenberg's wrenching decisions in September 1934. They're reflecting on what he meant for their community and other ethnic groups in the U.S. seeking to assimilate yet retain their unique cultures and faiths.

Last week, the Detroit Tigers hosted its first Jewish Heritage Day, handing out plaques recalling how Greenberg helped the Tigers reach the World Series in 1934. Rabbi Elliot Pachter of Congregation B'nai Moshe of West Bloomfield threw out the ceremonial first pitch on Sept. 14, and Greenberg's accomplishments were announced as videos of him displayed on the screen at Comerica Park.

A new book last year by Rosengren highlights how Greenberg and the Jewish community of Detroit wrestled with fitting in at a tense time.

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The legacy of Greenberg is that "we are proud to be American and Jewish at the same time," Pachter said. "We don't have to give up one for the other. We can take pride in both cultures."

Greenberg's decision not to play on Yom Kippur has become part of the narrative of Jewish-American identity for many in metro Detroit. When Josh Levine, 36, of Huntington Woods told his 7-year-old son that he couldn't play a soccer game on Yom Kippur next week, the boy asked: "Why can't I play?"

Levine, who was on the field for Jewish Heritage Day with his son, responded to him by explaining that Yom Kippur is an important time of the year for Jewish people, a time to repent for sins.

And he "told him that Hank Greenberg didn't play on Yom Kippur even though it was an important game," Levine recalled.

Josh Miller and his father Rabbi Jason Miller pose for a picture before the start of the Tigers vs. Indians game on Sept. 14.(Photo: Diane Weiss, Detroit Free Press)

It's a legacy not just for Jewish Americans but other ethnic groups as they balance their faith and ethnicity with being part of America. Newer ethnic and religious groups have noted Greenberg's example, such as Fouad Zaban, the coach at Fordson High School in Dearborn, whose Muslim players fasted when football season overlapped with Ramadan a few years ago.

In September 1934, many in metro Detroit's Jewish communities were anxious. It was the Great Depression and metro Detroit was home to two of America's well-known anti-Semites, Henry Ford of Dearborn and Father Charles Coughlin of Royal Oak, both of whom had national audiences for their rants against Jewish people. In Europe, the Nazis were on the rise.

Greenberg himself faced a lot of anti-Jewish slurs — both from fans and opposing players. The insults were a constant part of his career.

"I was a kike or a sheeny or a mockey," recalled Greenberg in his autobiography.

"Throw him a pork chop," one opposing player once yelled. "He can't hit it."

Except for Jackie Robinson, "there was nobody in the history of the game who took more abuse than Greenberg," his teammate Birdie Tebbetts, recalled. Some say that pitchers were deliberately walking him in 1938 because he was Jewish as he closed in at Babe Ruth's home run record.

But Greenberg ignored most of the racial insults and taunts, focusing on his game. And he never used his Jewish heritage as an excuse for any of his failures. He also found support from many, including the Detroit Free Press, which ran a headline in Hebrew wishing him a Happy New Year the day before the game on Rosh Hashanah in 1934.

Eighty years later, the climate has changed, with Greenberg having played a role in that, say writers and Jewish leaders. The CEO and President of Ford Motor Co., founded by Henry Ford, is now Mark Fields, who is Jewish.

Tigers manager Brad Ausmus also is Jewish, as is their second baseman, Ian Kinsler. Ironically, Kinsler belted a two-run home run to put the Tigers ahead on Sept. 14, the same game that was honored as Jewish Heritage Day by the Tigers.

Kinsler and Ausmus, both of whom aren't religious, will probably be on the field on the Jewish holy days this month if games fall on those days, said Rabbi Jason Miller of Farmington Hills, a huge Tigers fan who attended Jewish Heritage Day with his 10-year-old son.

"There aren't that many superior Jewish athletes of the caliber of Hank Greenberg, so it's important that the local Jewish community continues to honor this phenomenal baseball player," Miller said. "It's great that Jewish kids in the 21st Century are still talking about Hank Greenberg. He continues to be an inspiration."

Greenberg "was one of the first Jewish role models out of Detroit," said Scott Kaufman, CEO of the Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Detroit. "Not playing on Yom Kippur was a big statement to the community that you could have your identity and yet be part of the American culture at a time when many were immigrants or children of immigrants. ... He undid a lot of the stereotypes at the time."

Before the game started on Sept. 10, 1934, Greenberg went to Congregation Shaarey Zedek, in Detroit. He prayed and tried to focus on his religious duties, but fans couldn't help but stare at him, wondering whether he were going to play.

When Greenberg decided to play and end up hitting his two home runs, fans and newspapers in Detroit across the U.S. cheered him.

But Greenberg was conflicted.

"I hope I did the right thing," he said later, according to Rosengren's book. "Maybe I shouldn't have played. It's a sacred day. There wasn't any way of getting a dispensation or anything. ... I got thinking about the team, and I didn't want to lay down on the team. But it's on my conscience."

"I caught hell from my fellow parishioners; I caught hell from some rabbis."

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